Men’s Basketball Cardinals play themselves, Red vs. White

The Cardinals basketball team took to the court at the Yum! Center Saturday for a little run in front of the public.

Around 10,000 fans were in attendance for the Red vs. White Scrimmage. Amongst those a few wearing blue.

The vibe in the building was pretty quiet. Every once in a while Rick Pitino acknowledged the crowd on the mic, but for the most part fans seemed content to just observe.

There was almost tension in the air. The fans seemed as nervous as they were excited and the players pressed early too.

While the play on the court wasn’t March quality yet, there were some positive notes.

The smell of the Yum! Center hasn’t changed since last season. In case you weren’t there and needed confirmation.

Who won didn’t really matter. Who was on which team didn’t and doesn’t really matter either. The team with Peyton and Gorgui won of course.

Chane Behanan had 22 rebounds and worked his tail off. His offensive game was still extremely frustrating, but he scored a game high 24 points. A lot of dunks for the big guy, a lot of turnovers too.

Montrezl Harrell also showed off his dunking ability and rebounded the ball well. He hustled and worked hard and made a good first impression.

Luke Hancock played well. He made smart plays and was all over the court. He handled the ball well and took good opportunities on the offensive end.

Gorgui Dieng didn’t do anything flashy, but was Gorgui and Mangok Mathiang played both beside Gorgui at times and also in the middle on his own. Mathiang also nailed a three and the fans loved it.

Kevin Ware played a game high 38 minutes and turned the ball over one time. Yes one, no typo. The book could probably be closed on Ware right there. He had nine assists though, scored 11 points and rebounded. Awesome to see that. Ware didn’t shoot the ball from outside, but who did?

A real point of worry and intrigue coming into this little scrimmage was the shooting, and it was bad. White team from beyond the arc: 2-of-21. Red team from deep: 3-of-14. Boooo.

Those numbers aren’t going to get it done. March is months away though.

Wayne Blackshear was involved all over the court, but didn’t really find his touch and looked frustrated.

Peyton Siva and Russ Smith were Peyton and Russ as expected and unfortunately Angel Nunez and Zach Price were too much of Angel and Zach as expected.

Every player on the floor looked hungry and that was a great sign. The hustle was there and the emotion and energy was there too. There were no easy baskets. As expected with this team hustle and defense were showcased, not offense.

It was fun to see the guys in action and there is a lot to be excited about for this team this year. It’s hard to take too much from a game like this, but its good to see basketball with real eyes and know it is just weeks away.